Suspect arrested after bomb threat at Fall River gas station prompts evacuation

Police arrested a man Monday night after he allegedly robbed a Hess service station and left behind a device he threatened was an explosive. Lt. John DeMello said the 50-year-old man was taken into custody after an incident at the Hess station at 614 Pleasant St. DeMello said the suspect’s name w...

Police arrested a man Monday night after he allegedly robbed a Hess service station and left behind a device he threatened was an explosive.

Lt. John DeMello said the 50-year-old man was taken into custody after an incident at the Hess station at 614 Pleasant St. DeMello said the suspect’s name was not being released as of press time as they continued to interview the suspect and investigate the case. He said charges were also still being determined.

The alleged robbery caused the shutdown of two city blocks after the suspect left behind a device he said was an explosive around 5 p.m.

The threat caused police to close down Pleasant Street, from Thirteenth Street to Fifteenth Street, until approximately 7:30 p.m. Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Jerry Galizio said the immediate area, which is made up of mostly commericial businesses, was also evacuated as a precaution.

Galizio said he and Sgt. Frank Hart, both of the state police bomb squad assigned to the state fire marshal’s office, responded to the scene around 5:20 p.m. at the request of Fall River police.

Galizio said a robot unit was used to get a view of the object of the device from inside of the building. He said it was then determined the device was not explosive.

He said it was requested that the gas station’s pumps be shut down, but was not sure if that was done.

DeMello said the bomb squad was called as a precaution after it could not initially be determined if the item was explosive or not.

“After the robbery an item was left behind and we were concerned about whether it was an explosive device or not,” DeMello said. “Out of precaution, we dispatched the bomb squad.”

Galizio said that calls regarding potential bomb scares have become a common occurrence in recent weeks.

“Since the Boston bombing, we’ve become quite busy with calls for suspected bag sweeps and those sorts of things,” Galizio said.